The present invention relates to hand tools and, more particularly, to hand-held striking tools such as hammers and the like and to a method for securing the head and handles in assembly.
Striking tools such as hammers, axes and picks generally have a forged metal head with an eye passage extending therethrough and into which the handle is inserted. Various techniques have been used for securing the handle in the eye of the head such as, for example, metal wedges driven into the end of a wooden handle to spread or expand the end portion of the handle into firm frictional engagement with the head.
In recent years, composite handles employing a metallic core rod and a surrounding synthetic resin jacket have become quite popular because of their durability and balance. Exemplary of such tools is the hammer disclosed in Hreha U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,274 granted Nov. 9, 1993.
Various techniques have been proposed for securing the end of such a composite handle in the eye of the head with the most common being the encasement of the end portion of the handle end in the eye with a rigid high strength resin such as an epoxy resin. Unfortunately, repeated striking of the hammer head and the attendant vibrations, with differentials in thermal expansion of the handle, resin, rod, and head, will over a period of time tend to produce some weakening of the bond between the epoxy and the head and handle end portion. Under some circumstances, sufficient axial forces can result in the handle being pulled from the eye of the striking head.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel hand-held striking tool in which the core rod of the handle is securely engaged within the eye passage in the striking head.
It is also an object to provide such a striking tool the metallic core rod is deformed into mechanical engagement with the eye passage.
Another object is to provide such a striking tool which can be fabricated readily and which is long lived.
A still further object is to provide a novel method for assembling a handle having a core rod with a striking tool head.